Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is post-rainbow capitalism and post-”sustainability,” and the big question we face: Where do we push it next?
On Thursday, ESC KEY .CO brought our Clean Creatives reporting to life with a soft-launch event at Somerset House. We called out bullshit, mapped greenwashing tactics and took instant photos. Most importantly, we found our people. Turns out, community can be more than a buzzword.
Big agencies rake in cash from fossil fuel clients while brands delete climate and diversity commitments. But creativity can be a solution, too. The Clean Creatives movement’s playbook — plus a spoof wellness app called Oilwell that’s trolling an F-List PR firm — show workers some ways to push back.
In this extended briefing, “TL;DR” = “Totally Legit; Def. Read” because we review “The AI Con,” the spicy new book ready to rattle the broligarchy. Plus, the authors answer ESC KEY .CO’s questions about creative work — giving you something hot to talk about at your next power lunch, as ever. *Wink.*
When it comes to the art of judging people, who is more qualified than prolific photographer and Portland In Color founder Celeste Noche? It’s not a rhetorical question. We set the table in the midst of decisions, an austere creative economy and bad “AI” imagery, asking, “How is this still OK?!”
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is workplace “AI” coercion and workers required to pretend the bosses’ wet dreams are true (even when they’re clearly not).
Prompt engineering for writers! Tips on how to ensure your chatbot understands your very human voice! Plus, a bonus idea on how to use "Al" writing without anyone knowing so you can "quiet quit" your career and let this over-hyped tech take over your discipline! It's wildly helpful in 666 ways!
This week the category is, reclaim your lunch! To mark ESC KEY .CO’s first Q1.3, we’re packaging nine crunchy-fresh ideas about our digital discontent into a big mental meal plan. But first, we present a monologue about the aspirational lunching lifestyle. It may be our most unhinged long-read yet.
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is “The Right to Be Lazy,” a wildly timely 1883 book and the first selection for the new Public Domain Reading Club.
The inaugural selection in the Public Domain Reading Club: Marx's son-in-law's witty pamphlet on the paradox of technological advancement and automation: despite the promises otherwise, it never frees us from work. Presented in the original translation — once deemed too dangerous for U.S. mail.
In 2021, Tiara Darnell, a producer at Spotify, relocated to Mexico City. She soon opened its first Black soul food restaurant, the diaspora-connecting and now-closed Blaxicocina. We set the table at this intersection, discussing everything from “overnomadism” to burnout and finding new purpose.
The British nightlife trade group recently announced all the clubs could close by 2030 without urgent action. ESC KEY .CO speaks with longtime music journalist and cultural insights agency founder Andy Crysell about his new book, “Selling the Night,” and the big forces reshaping club culture today.
A Little Satire
It's for the good of JDs everywhere that today ESC KEY .CO, the only lifestyle newsletter on the internet, simply asks you to share your email address.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is how making a whole bunch of people feel like you “get” each other is inarguably the key to success and fatigue online.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the cognitive dissonance in fashion around “AI.” It won’t stop the climate crisis but it might take your photographer pal's next gig.
World Wide Weird
What are red flags for spotting the spin? Award-winning investigative reporter and co-creator of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series, Karen Hao reveals a simple framework for readers who want to embrace skeptical curiosity and hit, well, the ESC key on the hype.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the tens of thousands of words of reporting and research we read so, well, you don’t have to.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is a year-long study into the design principles behind trans tech, from the researcher who more or less defined the field.
World Wide Weird
Or, at least, the best of ’em do. Oliver Haimson’s new book, “Trans Technologies” from MIT Press, boldly asks what tech could look like reimagined as a tool of liberation. He sat down with ESC KEY .CO for a (very long) chat to reveal a (very timely) bit of the answer.
World Wide Weird
A weird revolution is making group travel arguably “cool,” as content creators turn algorithmically curated audiences into IRL travel companions. These digital collectives show us the shifting paradigms — and income disparity prevalent — across the fragmenting social web.
BTS @ ESC
Each week, we deliver your TL;DR Briefing on the things worth tracking. This week we’re not doing that. Instead, we’re diving into the “why” behind the soft launch of ESC KEY .CO and the 32,140 words we’ve published so far. (But we are following the TL;DR template because we couldn't be bothered.)
The Hype Ball
Download Grindr and you might get the clap. But this promised “AI wingman” certainly won’t give you rizz. In this Hype Ball column, we judge the dystopian drag of modern dating. And whatever your sexuality or lack thereof, you’re screwed.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the systematic erasure of public knowledge and the archivists fighting our slide into digital darkness.
TL;DR Briefing
Your TL;DR Briefing on things worth tracking — and talking about over your next power lunch. *Wink.* This time the thing is the recent surge in popularity for Bluesky, the darling du jour of the “decentralized” social web.